ISS Operations Update – January 18, 2016

Experiments:

SPHERES Zero Robotics Dry Run [SPHERES stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites and involves two satellites that are used inside the space station to provide a miniature testbed to study maneuvering capabilities and spacecraft measurement systems. Students developed the sequences that the two bowling-ball sized microsatellites were put through. These two small satellites are used to study maneuvers in space in miniature inside the ISS.]

Circadian Rhythms Experiment – Thermolab Study [The BLR48 and Circadian Rhythms Study will examine the role of synchronized circadian rhythms and possible maintenance during long-duration spaceflight and addresses the impacts to crew members’ health and wellbeing. Understanding how the dark/light cycle and sleep shifting affects circadian rhythms and with that the performance of the crew members will enable scientists to develop new sleep shifting techniques for crew members in space and shift workers on Earth.]

Fine Motor Skills [Fine Motor Skills uses a tablet touchscreen application to monitor degradation in fine motor abilities over the course of an extended exposure to microgravity. A drop in fine motor skills can lead to problems when crew members are tasked with medical treatment, repairing sensitive equipment and interacting with touch-based equipment. Tests utilized by this study include multidirectional pointing, dragging, shape tracing, and object manipulation to create a knowledgebase that will allow scientists to evaluate the risk of fine motor performance decrements due to long-duration exposure to microgravity.]

Journals [Electronic journals will be kept by the crew members to allow psychologists to study behavioral issues that are associated with the isolation and confinement over long-duration space missions. Journals from 6-month ISS mission have amounted to a total of 1,100 written pages, but no data beyond those six months is available making this an interesting opportunity to study the impact of isolation in the confinements of ISS over a longer period.]

Maintenance/Systems:

Nominal Inspections/Servicing Tasks (Morning Inspection, Caution & Warning Panel Check, Sozh System Maintenance) (Russian Crew)

Starboard Crew Quarters (CQ) Light Housing Assembly Replacement after failure, Baseplate Ballast Assembly scheduled for later this week

Other Activities:

Post EVA Airlock Clean-Up, EVA Tool Stow, Post-EVA Medical Assessment

EMU-3011 Status: Friday’s EVA had to be terminated after a water intrusion in Kopra’s helmet. Over the weekend, high-speed telemetry recording was performed during a six-hour leak screening. No leaks, with the exception of a few drops of water, were reported by the crew. Further assessments are under evaluation.